The Founders Four:  Their Tale of Greatness
by SamGryffinclaw
Summary: From the Glen to the east, Fen Lake to the south, Calaway City to the north, and Calaway Valley to the west, four friends come together to make what will someday be the greatest thing to ever happen to the wizarding world.  FoundersEra Fic.  Rated T
1. The Families Four

**The Founders Four: Their Tale of Greatness**

By SamGryffinclaw

**AN:**

Welcome! I see you've come across my little story. This is my first story, and I intend for it to become almost novel-length. I was inspired to write this story after reading Star of the North's "Tale of a Time Long Gone." This story is in no way related to her story, other than that they both center on the Founders. My characters are in no way related to hers other than the names of the Founders. Enjoy, and please review!

**Disclaimer:** I am in no way associated with J. K. Rowling or her books, other than fondly enjoying them. Neither is this story. Anything you recognize belongs to her, and anything you don't know belongs to me.

**Chapter 1: The Families Four**

Rowena Ravenclaw was bored. No, not just bored. She felt that she was about as excited as a hippogriff eating its own dung. Not that she was consuming anything's waste, but her chores were, in her opinion, just as bad.

Rowena decided that she did not want to continue, and so sneaked out of the kitchen and made for the door in her living room to reach the outside world. As soon as she got up, however, her mother seemed to just appear right in front of her.

"And where exactly do you think you're going?" Cassidy Ravenclaw asked, in the calm and collected tone she used to hide her anger.

"Um…I dunno. I just finished my chores and I was hoping to go exploring in the forest!" Rowena lied, hoping to fool her mother.

Her mother, however, was NOT fooled. "You think you're done with it all? Somehow, I doubt that. Have you mended that horrible hole in your beautiful blue dress?" Rowena's silence was enough answer. "I knew it. Go back to your room and finish, and then you can go out and explore. Maybe." Cassidy said haughtily. She turned her back on her daughter and headed toward her bedroom, muttering to herself as she went.

Rowena returned to her room, stomping as she went, and sat down on her bed. She stared at the dress beside her, wondering what her mother meant. The hole wasn't THAT big. It was something that you couldn't see from more than two feet away! Rowena continued to stare at it, just wishing for it to mend itself.

Suddenly, it began to do just that! The fabric of the dress simply extended from all sides of the hole and came together, until it was completely gone! Perplexed, Rowena ran her dainty fingers over what was once a hole in her dress. It was as if there was never a hole at all!

Deciding not to explain the situation, and rather to exploit it, she grabbed the dress and ran into her mother's room. "Dress is mended!" Rowena called as she threw said dress at her mother's bewildered face. "Bebacklaterbye!"

The young woman ran outside her house and dashed into the village center, unsure of what to do next. Though she had said she would invite Tara and Aaron on her little expedition, it might be more fun to do something so exciting alone! The idea firm in her mind, she turned around and headed south into the forest that surrounded the place she called home.

After a few hours of exploring, Rowena found herself _completely _lost. Having lost all sight of her home long ago, she hadn't the slightest idea where she should head next. After a few steps, however, she saw a little light up ahead. _Funny_, thought Rowena. _I must have turned in a circle. Surely that's my clearing up ahead! There isn't anyone else in the forest… is there?_

Before the girl could have time to think, her feet decided for her that she was going to run up to the light to investigate. However, such speed does not often do well for a girl running through a forest in the dark, as was proven when she ran headlong into a large oak tree. Just before her consciousness left her, she could have sworn she saw a young man holding what she thought was a stick with a light on it! Sticks didn't light up… did they? She had no time to ponder, for just as she saw him, she then saw nothing but darkness.

SSSSSSSSSS

Salazar did not know what to think. All he had been doing was gathering firewood to keep warm back home, when suddenly a muggle girl was running right at him! If it wasn't for the tree, then he didn't know what he would have done.

Now was not the time to thank the tree. The girl was unconscious in front of him, and could be seriously hurt. Berating himself internally for this unnecessary bout of kindness, he levitated her with his wand and started off.

But where was he headed? Salazar did not know of anywhere near there where muggles lived. How he knew she was a muggle, he didn't quite understand. Maybe he just felt it.

He decided to just be as silent as he could, and listen for sounds that didn't sound like those of forest animals. Once that didn't work, he looked around for a clue as to where the girl was from. Thanking Merlin, he saw a particularly stomped-upon looking trail, and determined it must be where she had come from.

After following the path for a few hours, he saw a light up ahead. Surely this was the village from whence she came! Hurriedly, he ran up behind a house to hide and figure out what to do next.

Suddenly, an odd feeling came over Salazar. He turned around swiftly and saw a pair of bright green eyes staring back at him. Not wanting to be seen, he dashed away into the forest. _I guess she'll be all right…_ thought Salazar.

Unbeknownst to him, the owner of those eyes would remember him VERY well…

GGGGGGGGGG

Godric Gryffindor, unlike his father, considered himself to be a simple man. His father was the founder and mayor of the town they lived in, Calaway, and they were quite wealthy.

After the death of his mother, Gaspara, 5 years previous, Godric had become more quiet and reserved. His father, however, managed to recuperate and returned to his usual self quickly. After two more years, Galway Gryffindor found new love in a Dutch witch named Galinda Korteweg, and they married within a month of their meeting.

Godric snapped awake and jumped out of bed so quickly that he fell over and rolled over to his bedroom door.

"Is everything all right in there, Master Godric?" a startled voice called from the hallway. "You've made quite a loud ruckus, if I may say so."

Godric's bedroom door opened up to reveal a small old man in formal clothing. Gilbert had been the Gryffindor's butler since before Godric had been born, and he did not intend to leave anytime soon.

"Gilbert, you know you don't need to call me Master. My father is your master; I'm only his 19 year old son! And don't worry," Godric said, responding to Gilberts worrying quiver in his voice, "I'm fine. I guess my body was just excited to be awake, that's all."

Nodding, Gilbert walked in to dress him. Godric hated the procedure, but admitted that he could not even think of putting on the clothes his father required without getting a major headache.

When Godric's long, flowing scarlet robes were on properly, Gilbert backed away and began making Godric's bed.

A loud rumble was heard, and little Gilbert jumped. Laughing heartily, Godric said, "I think that was my stomach! Merlin, I had better get some breakfast in my system. See you later Gill!" Godric then sauntered out of the bedroom to head down for breakfast. He chuckled inside a little as he walked, for he knew that if one thing in all of Calaway irked little Gilbert, it was being called Gill.

As Godric made his way into the kitchen, his step-mother jumped out of her seat and cried, "Oh Godric! I can't believe you are up so late! It's almost 9:00, you lazy boy! Come, come. Have some breakfast; Gilbert made eggs and toast this morning."

Just as he was raised to, Godric obediently sat down at one of the chairs that flanked the large table. As Galinda served him his eggs, she began talking of the latest gossip. "Oh Godric, you wouldn't _believe_ what your uncle Galliard told me that happened last night at his tavern. You know that little friend of yours, what is his name… Jason Jenkins? Well, in front of the _whole_ Hooting Hen, he suddenly hopped down on one knee and proposed to your cousin, Galadriel!" Godric stopped breathing for a moment, but his step-mother didn't notice. "She accepted, of course. I've heard they've been courting for over a month now, which is long in your generation, I've heard. Isn't it exciting?"

"Yes, Galinda…" replied Godric, rather dazed. "Quite exciting." Godric was surprised that Jason, his closest friend, hadn't told him of his plans to propose to his cousin! One would expect one's friend to explain that kind of plan, but Godric had no such luck.

Trying to change the subject so he could decide what to think of this news, he asked Galinda, "Have you seen Father? He promised yesterday that we could go somewhere exciting this morning to practice my swordsmanship, but I'm not sure when he meant for us to go…"

After a moment's thought, Galinda replied, "You know, I haven't the slightest idea where he is! He was already out of bed when I woke up this morning, and I haven't seen him since. You had best check his study; he does seem to spend most of his time there."

Nodding, Godric stood up to go search for his father. Hopefully his step-mother was right.

HHHHHHHHHHHHH

Helga Hufflepuff looked around her kitchen while the cookies she had just prepared were baking. Though she could just ask her mother to conjure up a batch, they always seemed to taste better without the extra hint of magic in them. In that way, muggles seemed to have it right.

Helena, Helga's mother, was sitting in a rocking chair in the den adjacent to the kitchen/breakfast room. She was threading a number of stone beads retrieved and carved by her husband to make what would soon be a gorgeous necklace.

Helga's three brothers were outside in the valley playing what she liked to call a "boys' game." Pointless, violent, stupid, and physical were all that they cared about, and all that she could care less for.

Much to her dismay, they came bursting in the kitchen door, covered in mud and still chasing each other around. Before she could berate them, however, her father came in from his bedroom.

"I have an announcement!" boomed Hoyte Hufflepuff as he addressed his family. "I will be leaving in two days' time to go for a treasure hunt in a mountain to the east. I have found a cave system that looks man made, and I intend to investigate." As excited as Hoyte was for his trip, his eldest son, Hoyte Jr., seemed to be even more so.

"Papa, can I come with you this time? Please please please please please! I promise I'll be good and be quiet and I'll be a big help and–"

Hoyte put his large gloved hand over his son's mouth. "Son, of course you can come! Run along and pack, because we've got preparing to do!" He ushered his son towards the equipment room to explain what they'd be doing, but a loud "hem" from his wife stopped him in his tracks.

"Yes, Helena?" Hoyte said, turning around slowly.

"Hoyte, honey," answered Helena, choosing her words carefully, "I… I don't think that bringing Junior is such a good idea…"

Hoyte answered with a soft glare and said, "I disagree Helena; we'll talk more later on." He then left the room without a sound.

Helga's youngest brothers, the twins Hughes and Hudson, had taken advantage of her distraction and had slowly made for her freshly baked cookies. Her sharp eye, however, caught them long before they reached the cooling rack.

"Uh-uh, OOOOHHH no. You two are NOT entering the kitchen with that amount of mud all over you." Helga yelled disapprovingly. "You two get yourselves over to the river NOW and wash up before you can even THINK about getting some of my precious dessert!"

Her brothers didn't move.

"All right, that is IT! INCENDIO!" Helga cried, whipping out her wand and making a jabbing motion with it in the directions of her little brothers' back sides. Instantly, small flames shot out of her wand and caught the boys' pants on fire. Pleased with herself, Helga followed her brothers as they ran out the door screaming. She called out to them, "Now you might want to take a dip in the river, right?"

Returning inside, she expected her mother to scold her for her unkindness. Instead, she saw her mother laughing with tears in her eyes. She said, between breathes, "I.. can't.. believe… you… just… did… that…HAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Helga couldn't help but let out a little giggle, but felt her cookies were more important than laughter. She flicked her wand and the cookies flew off of the sheet and into the jar next to them. The cookies were done, so Helga, who was not quite done with her brothers, headed out to see them complaining at the river.

GGGGGGGGGGGGG

Godric peeked through the crack between the door to his father's study and its frame, and saw exactly the sight he needed to see: his father was at his desk, hard at work at whatever pressing matter was upon him that day. Wanting to keep his father in a good mood, Godric decided to be extra courteous and knock quietly instead of just barging in as per usual.

After a quick moment and the sound of rustling papers, the door opened to reveal Galway Gryffindor behind it. Galway had flaming red hair with a few streaks of white that were beginning to show his old age. Though he had once been a fine knight, his figure resembled that of a tomato more and more each day. "What can I do for you, fine lad?" Galway joked as he ushered his youngest into the study.

Godric patted his aging father on the back and said "Well, I seem to remember a certain father of mine making a certain promise to me that we would certainly go out to practice my swordsmanship today." Godric ended his little joke with a wink and waited for his father's response.

"Wait… what? Swordsmanship… today... Oh! That's right. We were to go and practice today, weren't we? I don't know, though… I do have a lot of work to go over, Godric…" said Galway in a fluster, indicating the large pile of papers on his desk. Unbeknownst to Godric, however, Galway had _plenty_ of time to complete his work, and just wanted to toy with his son.

"Father!" whined Godric. "That's not fair! You _promised!_" Usually the young man didn't act so childish, but he was in a mood to do so.

"I'm just joking, son. I've got plenty of time on my hands. Why don't we go right now?" Galway asked, patting his son's back.

"Oh, good! I was hoping I wouldn't have to show my new face to you, Father… it is quite a sad thing, and you wouldn't have been able to resist!" Godric punched his father's arm jokingly, and the two walked out of the house laughing away.

As the two left the Gryffindor Estate, two large booms were heard from the attic. Startled, Galway and Godric looked up to see the source of the commotion. Two small heads covered in long auburn hair poked out of the window as they let the smoke pour out of the attic in which they worked. "Sorry Father! Won't happen again; we promise!" said the girls in unison. They were Godric's older sisters, and twins. Grizelda and Gretchyn were their names, and they were always making some new experiment up in the attic.

Galway Gryffindor, rather than scolding his daughters, congratulated them and said, "Good show girls! I think that may be your biggest boom yet! Keep up the good work." Galway and his son laughed heartily and saddled their horses to head out to the mountains to the east.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

In the forest to the west, Salazar Slytherin was not laughing. In fact, he was expecting no less than death within the next hour. Having just woken up from a sleep he had not remembered entering, Salazar realized it was almost 10:30 in the morning! His father had sent him out for firewood the night before and he still hadn't returned!

Having remembered the previous night's events, Salazar decided that he would be best off just retrieving firewood as quickly as he could and then sneaking back into his house. Hopefully, Sabir Slytherin would already be out fishing by this time of morning.

By the time Salazar was done with his gathering, it had to be at least 11:00. Holding all of the wood he could carry, the thin young man scurried back to his father's hut on the lake, hoping to sneak in unnoticed.

Just as he slinked through the door, a calm voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Where exactly have YOU been?"

**A/N:**

Well, that's it! Any reviews, be they comments, questions, criticism, etc. are welcome. If you ask a question, I will be sure to answer it through a message to you as soon as I receive it.

I have before I leave a request and a question.

First, for the request: would someone like to beta-read this story before I publish each chapter? No test or whatever is necessary, but I do request just a promise of punctuality with the beta-ing of my stories. Anyone who would like more details on the subject can either message me here or email me at .

And now for the question. I have reached a point in the planning of chapter 2 (which is going well, I might add) that might allow for some changes in my original plan. When I set out to write this story, I intended for the couples to be Godric/Rowena and Salazar/Helga. However, as has become evident as this story has played out in both my mind and my Word Document that the pairings might work as Godric/Helga and Salazar/Rowena. Which would you prefer, and why? A little interaction here, if you will.

Thanks for reading, and I'll either update by Saturday or by around the tenth of July; I have a long-term commitment in between.

See you!

**Sam Gryffinclaw**


	2. The Findings Four

**The Founders Four: Their Tale of Greatness**

By SamGryffinclaw

**AN:** I somehow see last chapter as somewhat of a prologue, but this chapter really gets the story going. Any comments, questions, or concerns (LOL!) are welcome and can be left in a review, messaged to me here on FFN, or emailed to me at Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I am in no way associated with J. K. Rowling or her books, other than fondly enjoying them. Neither is this story. Anything you recognize belongs to her, and anything you don't know belongs to me.

**Dedication: **For Ashley, my super awesome buddy from Spanish class who said she was going to read this! If you are reading this, HI ASHLEY!

**Chapter 2: The Findings Four**

"_Where have YOU been?"_

Salazar looked up to see the menacing glare that was bearing down upon him. To his dismay, he would know that horrible face anywhere; after all, his father's face was very similar to that of his own.

Trying to think of a good lie, Salazar mumbled, "Well, there was rain last night near our hut…so I went further away to find dry wood…and then I was running home and hit a tree and got knocked out…so I just woke up and ran home (more carefully)…and here I am!" Salazar returned his gaze to his father's face to see his reaction.

Sabir Slytherin said nothing, but turned down to the snake that was tightly wrapped around his left arm as it had begun making horrible hissing and spitting noises. When the snake's little speech was complete, Sabir flicked his head back to look upon his son, a disgusted look upon his face. "You are lying! Selena says you lie! I can't believe you would lie to your own flesh and blood, especially your father!" Salazar stared at his feet. "I don't know what has gotten into you, boy; your little sister is obedient, she does what she is told!"

Just as the angry man completed his sentence, the daughter whom he mentioned walked into the hut. "Hi Father! Hello, Salazar!" she sang, flashing her beautiful smile at the men of her family.

Sabir's fiery face softened as he saw his beautiful daughter. He had always been so proud of her; not only did she have her mother's perfect features, but also was always compliant to whatever her father asked.

A loud complaint from his eldest broke him out of his silent fawning for his daughter. "Father! That is not fair. I get in trouble for coming in late, and yet all she gets is a cheerful look. I'm your child too, father. I should get equal treatment." Salazar fell silent, surprised that he had had such an outburst, and against his father no less! However, he knew that all of what he said was true and that it needed to be said.

"That is IT!" Sabir yelled. "I will not be berated by my son. My punishment for you is that you are not allowed to leave the house for an entire month, except to go to the lake, and that is only to fish. My decision is final." With that pathetic excuse for a salutation, he stalked off to the bedroom shared by him and his wife.

Salazar sulked back to the room he shared with his sister, knowing that he was about to have a very boring month.

RRRRRRRRRRR

Rowena opened her eyes to see the bright blue eyes of her mother within inches of her face. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" she cried in surprise. "Mother, you scared me! What happened? I had the strangest dream…and why on EARTH does my head hurt so badly?" Rowena spewed out all of these words in one breath, and then fell back to her pillow realizing that there was a rather violent pain emanating from everywhere above her shoulders.

With a quiet laugh in her voice, Cassidy replied, "Slow down little one! Your head hurts because of what happened, I assume. You were found knocked out just behind our cottage, and I brought you in here for you to rest properly." Noticing the wet cloth that had fallen off Rowena's head in her sleep, Cassie replaced it and continued. "The odd thing is, no one has any idea how you got there!"

Some large and rather rusty wheels began turning in the tome of unnecessary knowledge that was Rowena's brain. How _had_ she gotten home? The last thing she remembered was running in the forest…because the boy in her dream had been just that, a dream, right? She didn't think she had ever seen the boy before… his long, dark hair and his pale face were rather unique, and there were so few people living in the Glen! She silently decided that, had she ever seen him before this, she would remember who he was. Deciding to speak aloud, she said, "That's odd, Mother…who exactly found me?"

"It was your little friend, um… let's see, what's his name… Ashton, Aaron? Yes, that's right. Aaron!" her mother replied, proud of herself for having remembered the name.

"Aaron, was it? Interesting…Mother, my headache has almost gone away now. Can I go for a walk, get some fresh air?" Rowena decided that her mother wouldn't need to know specifically to _where _she was walking.

Mrs. Ravenclaw paused, then nodded slowly and said, "Fine. Don't stay out for too long! And don't do anything reckless, or you'll agitate your headache again!"

Rowena instantly hopped out of bed, and nearly fell over from the dizziness. Trying to hide this from her mother, she pecked her cheek and said, "Bye, mum!" and was out in a flash.

The girl knew exactly where she was going, and it wasn't a random walk. No, she was headed to one of her best friends' house, that of Aaron Ashen. If he was the one who found her, then he likely knew much more than she did at that point.

Rowena hopped up the Ashens' stoop, skipping every other stair, and knocked rapidly on their door. To her relief, it was Aaron that answered the door. "Rowena! Come on in! Are you feeling any better?"

Aaron had a surprisingly deep voice for a boy of 16. It was very warm and soothing, and flowed into a listener's ears like water through a fountain. He was also quite tall, measuring up to be about 6 feet tall. His dark skin was the color of chocolate, and his short black hair was cut to perfection. His eyes, in contrast to his other features, were a striking shade of green.

Rowena started to ask a question, but before sound came out, she found herself being ushered into the sitting room. To her delight, her other closest friend, Tara Thorpe, was seated on the floor, playing with a few twigs and pebbles, making random patterns.

Tara had long, auburn hair that was rather all over the place. Her eyes were a soft light gray, like snow that had just started to melt. She wore an elaborate dress, which was odd for a citizen of the Glen. However, as her mother made clothing for the village, it was likely that she spoiled herself and her daughter every so often. Suddenly feeling the eyes that rested upon her, Tara looked up to see her closest friend staring down at her.

"Rowena! Hi! Oh, I am so sorry I haven't seen you before this, but your mother wouldn't even let anyone in the house! Goodness, I've been so worried…" she sighed, and then pulled her friend into a tight hug. "Don't ever get hurt too badly again, m'kay?"

Rowena attempted to laugh, but then realized that Tara's hug was limiting her ability to inhale. She pulled herself away and said, "Sorry Tara, but if you don't want me hurt, you may not want to break my ribs…" She began to laugh quietly as she massaged her (possibly bruised) side.

Aaron let out a low rumble that the others accepted as a laugh, and then turned to Rowena to pose a question. "So do you know what happened that had you out cold?"

"You know, I was just going to ask the same thing," remarked Tara.

After a moment's thought, Rowena said, "Well, I seem to remember an oddly placed tree with an inconvenient branch, and me falling…and there was a boy. At least, I think there was. I might have just dreamed him up." Rowena stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. "If he _does_ exist, then he had long dark hair and pale skin. That's all that I saw before I blacked out…"

Aaron, who seemed to have been fit to burst had she not stopped long enough for him to talk, responded. "Dark hair and pale skin? I'm almost positive that I saw a similar boy just as I found you!

"You see, I had just walked over to your house to ask where you were, as I was hoping to go out into the woods sometime. Just as I was about to knock, I heard a rather severe thump from the other side of your house. I walked over to investigate, and saw you sprawled unconscious on the ground and saw the boy you described dashing away! I wonder who he is?" Aaron stopped, and found himself deep in thought.

As Aaron thought, Tara decided to give her two cents. "I think we ought to meet this guy. From what I can tell, he is either your savior that brought you home, or the reason your hurt. Either way, I think we ought to know just what happened the other night."

Tara was not usually the one to take the initiative necessary to make such a plan, no matter how vague. The others could tell that she was right, however.

Rowena voiced her approval before Aaron could. "I completely agree, Tara. I say we go out to the forest tomorrow and try to find where I was the other day, and find this boy! At the very least, _I'd_ like to thank him!"

Aaron was quick to agree. "I'm all for that!" Tara nodded in agreement as well. "Well then, see you guys tomorrow?"

"Definitely," was Tara's reply, and the girls headed out of the Ashen house.

GGGGGGGGGGGG

_The older man unsheathed his sword. It was not the most perfect blade, but it was quite impressive all the same. The hilt was made of a silver-like metal and embedded with three small red garnets. The blade itself was about a foot and a half long, and was quite sharp. _

_The younger man pulled out a similar blade, and looked his father in the eyes. Without losing eye contact, both men nodded slowly in what seemed to be accepted as a semi-courteous bow. Without a word, the older man started swinging and twisting his blade with surprising agility for a man of his age. His son reacted almost as quickly, countering almost every blow. They stopped, however, when the flat side of the elder's sword lay lightly against the temple of the face upon which he continued to stare._

"_I've killed you. Your village is failed and occupied by the enemy. Your wife and daughters are raped, beaten, and left for dead. Your sons are taken as slaves for the small army that you attempted to oppose. You lose." The man stated these as though reading a history book that told the future. He lowered his blade, and leaned upon it. "What did you do wrong?" It was not often that someone asked their dead opponent such a question, but as the opponent was his son, the fight was just practice, and his death is simply hypothetical, more sense is found in the man's query._

"_I thought you were an overconfident enemy. I expected you to play cat and mouse, and toy with me, both physically and mentally, until I was worn out. Instead, you were a straightforward leader that came to win, and not for the fight itself. You went for the kill as soon as you could, and I didn't expect it." In a similar fashion, it is uncommon for one to describe to his killer why and how he died, and how he might have lived in different circumstances. The fighters regroup, reform their plans, and attack once more._

Godric continued trudging up a hill towards the plateau he and his father had seen a little ways back on the trail that he followed. He was keeping a steady pace, and held his head high. His father, however, was not in quite as good form.

Godric stopped to laugh at his lagging parent. "Father, surely you can go faster than that! If you were once a knight who defeated many, surely you can conquer a simple hill!"

Galway Gryffindor caught up to his youngest son, and grabbed his shoulder for support. "You… come… tell… me… when… YOU… turn… six…-ty… and… you've… climbed… this… hill…" he panted.

"Come on!" called Godric as he slipped his burly arm underneath those of his father. "We're almost there. Want some water when we get up?"

"Water…would…be…nice…"

They made their way up the remainder of the hill and sat down on some conveniently located rocks. Godric removed a large bottle of water from his rucksack and handed it to his father.

After a few unhealthily large gulps of water, Galway turned to his son and said, "Alrighty then. Now that I have a few liters of water in my system… let's get down to business. We're out here to practice swordsmanship, not to discuss my age and its effects…"

After their more serious practice, the two Irish men continue to smash their weapons against that of the other, though in a much less severe fashion. Before long, some light conversation arose. After the usual meaningless paternal small talk having to do with the weather, the father's job, and family news, several far more interesting topics came up. The first was another fatherly favorite: the future.

"So Godric…I don't mean to seem forward, but I must ask you about something," started Galway Gryffindor. "Although you do very well in your studies and your handling of the sword, I have yet to see any initiative from you. What exactly do you intend to do?" Seeing the look of doubt and slight embarrassment upon the face of his son, he continued, "Obviously, as mayor of Calaway, I have connections beyond belief. I could get you any apprenticeship, any entry level that you wished for your career. In fact, with my help, you could end up the next mayor when I step down from the post!"

For once, Godric felt small and rather meek. As a rather pathetic response, he muttered something about "not knowing what he wanted to do."

His father gave him a reassuring slap on the back and jovially said, "That's alright, I guess! A boy of 19 years needn't know what he is to do with himself! After all, I didn't find myself as a mayor until _**I**_ was almost 40! You've got time, young man, especially as the son of a noble." His tone changed from one of light cheerfulness to a slightly more serious one. "Speaking of nobility, however, there is one thing that I am becoming rather concerned about." He paused for a moment to think, and then continued. "You see, a man of your status is expected to marry, have strapping young boys to continue the line, and to honor his family. You are _**very**_ near the age at which that process is expected to start. I, personally, believe in marriage as a union of lovers, not just of two people of opposite genders. My soul was one with that of your mother, and I am now very much in love with Galinda. However, as far as my knowledge goes, you have not courted a single woman in all of your 19 years! Godric, you are very quickly becoming an _**adult! **_Your closest friend approaches the date of his marriage with your _**younger cousin**_, and yet you remain thoroughly unmarried. Couldn't you… you know… follow their example?" Galway looked at his son hopefully.

Godric sighed. "I don't know, Father. You speak of true love and the binding of souls; what if I haven't found that yet? I haven't courted a girl because I haven't found one that is of my liking. Is that so horrible?" When his father stayed silent, Godric continued in a rather stern voice. "If we don't head back soon, it'll be quite dark before we get home. Let's go." And without another word, the two men started their journey home.

HHHHHHHHHH

'_Oh, come on!_' Helga thought. '_I wouldn't care if four _**hundred**_ of me light their backsides, they aren't _**still**_ burnt, and certainly not dirty!_' Letting her maternal instincts kick in, Helga sighed and opened the door to the garden, then the gate from the garden to the rest of the valley. She pulled up her skirts slightly as she walked into the slightly muddy area beyond her precious garden.

The girl began to walk with surprising speed towards the river in which she was sure her little brothers were now rambunctiously playing in. _Another boy's game, no doubt..._

As she entered the radius within which one could hear the unbearably raucous activities of the eight year old twins in the river, she slowed significantly. She tapped her wand to her throat and whispered, "Sonorus."

"HUDSON! HUGH!!!!! GET OVER HERE NOWWWWWWW!!!!" Helga hardly needed to scream due to the spell that magnified the level of her voice twenty-fold, though it certainly added to the terrified looks upon the faces of her little brothers. A rather strangled yell of "coming—yes—just a minute—!" came from each of the twin boys. Helga pocketed her wand with a look of pleasure that, was this story describing lines and not faces, would be completely perpendicular to those of her brothers.

The aforementioned brothers appeared just before their older sister, sopping wet, though (luckily) fully dressed. Before they could spew out their perfectly prepared excuse for why they were playing in the river, she pointed her wand at each of them in turn and said, "Silencio!"

"I don't know why you were playing here rather than washing, nor do I care. What I DO care about is the fact that you are no longer covered in mud, no matter how wet you are in return. Now, put on your shoes and run along home for those cookies you were so desparate to steal earlier. Though, _**please**_ try to dry off a little before you enter my kitchen!" The boys saluted their older sister in perfect tandem, and then scampered off toward their parents' cottage, laughing madly as they went.

Their older sister chuckled a little bit herself, and turned to follow them in a much slower and refined manner. Before she had taken two steps, however, she saw a speck of red and a much older looking speck of blue walking down a hill just a little up the valley. Much to her surprise, the specks seemed to be rather human-shaped! Visitors _**never**_ came to Calaway Valley. Heck, hardly anyone ever visited the city! Wanting to investigate this quite rare occurrence, she changed her course and began to trot in the direction of the ever-wandering blue and red specks. As the specks and the girl neared each other, she began to get a much better look. The specks were indeed men, and men of quite an amount of wealth, if their clothes were anything to go by. The younger of the two specks was not older than 20, and had hair almost the color of a ripe peach. The older man, whom Helga took to be the father of the younger, was likely around the age of 60.

The specks approached the bridge that would bring them across to Helga's side of the river. Helga cautiously strolled up to the pair, each of whom stopped quite quickly as they realized that a 17 year old girl was approaching them.

"I'm sorry," said the younger man pompously. "I'm not sure I know who you are. I, obviously, am Godric Gryffindor. This is my father, Galway."

Helga scoffed at the arrogant manner with which this man spoke. "I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'obviously,' but I don't think I know any Godric or Gryffindor. I'm Helga Hufflepuff though." Helga grabbed his hand and shook it with noticeable fervor.

Galway seemed quite taken aback. "Don't know...any Gryffindor? I don't mean to be rude, miss, but where have you been for the past 25 years? I'm one of the founders of Calaway, and I've been its mayor for years as well! Have you _**never**_ been to the city?"

Helga thought for a moment, and then responded, "Well, come to think of it, I think I went once when I was quite little...Although, I certainly haven't gone since. Only my mum and dad go into the city; I stay here to watch my brothers. Having not been there much, I guess I haven't stopped to learn the history of the city..."

Galway's mouth remained agape, so his son pushed his index finger against his father's lower jaw to encourage it to return to a less ape-like position. Godric's gaze returned to the girl he had just met. "Well, it has been _**very **_nice to meet you, Helga. Maybe you'll change your mind and come to the city some time? It's really quite nice...I'd love to see you there!" Godric gave a rather regal light wave and flashed his rather toothy smile. Helga returned with her own, which outshone the former by a very long way and seemed to sparkle in all directions, regardless of the light upon them. Galway nodded, and ushered his son away.

All three of them set off towards their homes, each with VERY different ideas about the people they had just met.

**A/N:**

Well, what did you think? As you may be able to tell, I made the decision about the question I asked this time, this place, last chapter. Any other comments, questions, or concerns can be left in a review, in a message here at FFN, or in an email to I am still looking for someone to beta-read my chapters, so if anyone interested would drop an email to the aforementioned address, that'd be great.

I'm so sorry for the wait between chapters; I'm 99 positive that it won't be anywhere near as long for the upcoming chapters. I've already got through Chapter 5 strictly planned, and through about Chapter 10 vaguely planned, so they should be pretty much churning out now.

I can't reply here to the reviewers, but thanks so much to those who reviewed!

**UPDATED A/N!!!:**

I've added two questions with FFN's "Polls" feature. If you would vote in them, I'd really appreciate it! It might make reading my story more fun: (see my profile) UPDATE: I guess I lied/was misinformed... apparently you can't vote directly from my profile, and I'm not too fond of the forums here, so... yeah. I guess the polls will have to wait until the beta is over.


	3. Questions

**The Founders Four: Their Tale of Greatness**

By SamGryffinclaw

**AN:** Welcome to Chapter 3! I think it might me a little shorter than the first two, but I'm not sure if that is going to be a pattern yet. LOL. We'll wait and see, I guess.

**Dedication:** For the grand total of 3 people who have reviewed my story at the time of writing this. You guys are awesome, it's for you that I'm writing:D

**Disclaimer:** I am in no way associated with J. K. Rowling or her books, other than fondly enjoying them. Neither is this story. Anything you recognize belongs to her, and anything you don't know belongs to me.

**Chapter 3: Questions**

* * *

GGGGGGGGGG 

Godric sauntered through to streets of Calaway City and up the slope that led to his father's manor-house. As he neared it, another great boom exploded through the streets from the attic above the house. His twin older sisters looked out from the attic window, waiting to apologize cutely if their father was in earshot. They didn't see him, so they left the window and, therefore, Godric's sight. From about 100 yards behind him, Godric heard something that resembled, "Wait so, curls, wait so!"

Not wanting to hear his father's voice more than he had to, Godric pulled out his wand and tapped the door to his foyer. A small gray eye replaced the peephole and seemed to say, "Welcome, Master Godric." Godric smirked, imagining what the extremely magical house would do if Gilbert's eye and the sensors in the door detected that an unknown person was attempting entry. He suspected that it would contain excessive use of oatmeal and other breakfast products in a very frightening way, knowing his butler.

The door swung open, and Godric silently walked inside. The foyer of the house was large and impressive, covering a floor with dimensions of about 20 by 20 feet, and reaching up to touch the stone ceiling two stories above. Hanging from the ceiling on a linked chain was an overwhelming chandelier made with 24 karat gold. More than 200 candles were supported by the fixture, and all were enchanted with everlasting (yet never burning) fire.

Godric passed the doors to the dining room and parlor, hearing a fast-speaking Galinda gossiping with one of the town ladies. An intricate oriental carpet with striking shades of crimson traced his trail up the stairs and to his quarters. He slammed the oak door behind him with a force that rattled the entire stone house. A loud thump could be heard from below. _I'll have to apologize to Gilbert later_, thought Godric as he walked towards his bed. Not bothering to remove his cloak or his gloves, he jumped upon his canopied bed and rolled over on his back.

_Father is a prat,_Godric thought, silently applauding himself for his equally silent boldness. _I'm only 19, for Merlin's sake! I don't know what I want to do with my life...and I _certainly _don't need to get married!_ As his thoughts turned to those of wedding bells and marital status, he couldn't help that a certain curly-haired maiden popped into his head. _She does have pretty eyes..._he thought as the picture became clearer and clearer in his mind. _And that smile! I'm surprised I'm not blinded having seen it...and her hair is a rather pleasing blond shade... _Godric's frown from his father's rather blunt encouraging quickly turned to a smile as images of the maiden pranced around in his head. Before long, his fantasies turned to dreams, and he fell into a deep sleep.

HHHHHHHHHH

The afore-fantasized girl was not smiling. Not surprisingly, seeing her parents getting into a heated argument leads to frowning and general discontent for Helga Hufflepuff. And _certainly_ not smiling.

Hoyte, Helga's father, took a step towards his wife. "Helena...honey. I...I don't think..." Mr. Hufflepuff was talking very slowly, obviously choosing his words carefully. "I don't think you're being very reasonable."

For a moment, Helena stayed silent. "Reasonable?" she said quietly. "You don't think I'm being REASONABLE?!?!?!?" Her quiet tone quickly escalated to a scream of surprising strength. "Hoyte Hufflepuff, you are speaking of our SON like is some kind of TOOL! He is only 12 YEARS OLD! He is not prepared to do this sort of thing...Hoyte...you could both be killed." Helena backed down, and wilted back into her oft used spot of her rocking chair.

"I understand, Helena. But I think he is ready." Hoyte paused. "You see, he and I have been training for the day he would be allowed to do such a thing. He's gotten quite strong, and he's been able to climb some of the smaller rocks around here quite easily." Hoyte paused again and took a deep breath. "Helena, I think he's ready for it."

Helena gave him an incomprehensible look, then stood up slowly. "Fine, then. Just...fine," she said quietly, and then she left the living room for her bedroom.

To Helga, it might have been better if she had yelled.

_

* * *

__She is walking among a beautiful field of flowers. She sees a small sprig of mint, and picks it up hoping to use it in her next meal. She couldn't help herself from bringing it close to her nose to smell its wonderful scent._

_Suddenly, she is in a grand ballroom, with perhaps fifty formally clad witches and wizards. She herself was as much as five years older, and she was wearing a magnificent gold-colored gown. She was dancing with a man who was undoubtedly the most handsome red-haired man she had ever seen. He ducks down to her ear, and in a cross between a quiet moan and a secretive whisper, says "I love you, Helga Hufflepuff." He pulls back to look into her eyes, and then plunges slowly towards her face, taking her into a deep, passionate–_

* * *

Helga Hufflepuff woke up suddenly from her dream. She was being shaken lightly by two pairs of small hands. 

"Helga, Helga!" one of the pair of hands cried. "Wake up!"

Helga opened her eyes slightly and swatted lazily at the newcomers. "Hugh? Hudson? What is it?"

"Well, you see, there's a really loud thunderstorm going on, and..." Hugh stopped, obviously not wanting to admit any kind of fear.

"...and we wanted to make sure you weren't scared!" Hudson finished for him. Hugh gave his twin brother a look of deep gratitude.

Helga was about to respond, when a particularly loud bit of thunder exploded through the night.

"AAAAHHHH!!!" cried the young Hufflepuffs. Helga chuckled slightly to herself as her younger brothers dove under her covers.

"Do you guys want to stay in here for the rest of the night?" Helga asked. What could only be taken to be nodding came from the two lumps beneath her quilt. "Alright then. Goodnight guys!"

And in the midst of it all, the dream was all but forgotten.

RRRRRRRRR

"Do you think we REALLY need to find him?" Tara complained for what seemed like the thousandth time. "I mean, either way; he saved you, he's cool, so we don't want to bother him, or he's the one that hit your head, he's evil, and we don't want to bother him. Let's just... I dunno... pick some berries or something!"

"Tara," Aaron started, "I think it's really important that we find him. Like you said, 'either way' we want to thank him or ask him why he did something to Rowena." Aaron stopped suddenly, causing Rowena to run into him.

After a moment of recovery, Rowena said, "I don't know, Aaron...I think Tara may have a point. I mean, what if he doesn't WANT to be found?" No sooner than she said this did Rowena see a pair of pale gray eyes in between some trees behind Aaron. The eyes seemed to nod rapidly, so she continued. "Honestly, I think we ought to just head home. You guys go on ahead; I'm going to be here a little longer to look at that tree over there..." Rowena started towards the eyes slowly as her friends shrugged and left.

"Who are you?" she asked the eyes.

The eyes did not respond, but their body began to emerge.

SSSSSSSSSSS

Salazar had watched the entire exchange, breathing as hard and fast as he could while still keeping silent. His breathing slowed when the two previously unknown muggles walked away.

"Who are you?" asked the raven-haired beauty.

Salazar clumsily struggled to remove himself from his niche within the trees, and then approached the girl slowly.

"I'm Salazar. Salazar Slytherin," he replied. "And who are you?"

"I'm... I'm Rowena. Rowena Ravenclaw," said Rowena. "Are you...I mean...you aren't from The Glen, are you?"

Salazar frowned. "Erm...if you muggles call your village a "Glen", or whatever, then no, I'm not."

"Wait, what was that you called me? A "moogle" or whatever? If that's offensive, you're going for a hard punch in the nose!" A barely noticeable red tint began to seep into Rowena's fair pallor.

"A moogle, you say?" Salazar chuckled a little to himself. "Nah, I said 'muggle'. It means you're not magic. I mean, you're not magic, are you?"

"Magic??!?!" cried Rowena. "Why, there's no such thing! You mean with 'abra kadabra' and stuff?"

"Well, I can show you, if you want..." Salazar suggested. Rowena nodded fervently, so the boy removed his pocketed wand. "Diffindo!" he cried as he made a slashing motion towards a nearby sapling.

Rowena squeaked slightly as the jet of orange light flew through the otherwise darkening evening. "Did you really do that... with that stick?" Rowena was VERY curious.

"Yes, I did!" Salazar said proudly. "But that's just basic stuff."

"Are you that boy? From the other night?" Rowena asked slowly.

_So she DOES remember!_ thought Salazar. "If you mean the person who saved you, then yes, I guess..." Salazar said awkwardly. Rowena stayed silent, so he continued. "You see, you were running toward me, and I didn't know what to do. I didn't have to decide, however, because you happened to run into an unfortunately located branch. I just levitated you back to what I thought was your village and I left."

"Oh. Well, thanks, I guess," said Rowena. "I mean, if it wasn't for you, one of the animals could have gotten me!" Rowena paused. "Is there any way to...like... 'get' magic?"

Salazar frowned. He knew her answer was no, but that didn't mean that she couldn't be a witch...

"Well, not really. You kind of have to be born with it." Rowena's bright smile faded, so Salazar quickly continued. "But it's possible for a muggle to be born with it! You might have; you never know! There's an easy way to tell if you're magic, too, if what my mother says is right."

"What?!?!" cried Rowena in her sudden excitement. "Tell me, tell me! Oh please, do tell me!"

The young man laughed. "Alright. Have you ever made anything...odd happen? Something you couldn't explain?" Salazar's once bright eyes now dimmed as the comedic talk was over.

"Well," said Rowena thoughtfully with her index finger tapping upon her chin. "There was this one time...quite recently, actually. You see, my mother told me to mend this wonderful blue dress that I had torn a hole in the previous day. And it was a rather big hole, and it would have taken _hours to mend! _So I sort of...told it to mend itself. I was just staring at it, and I was so angry! And then, the threads started extending, and melding together with those from the other side, and, before I knew it, it was as if there had never been any hole at all! Is that the kind of thing you're talking about?"

Salazar was smiling ear to ear. "That's exactly what I mean. I think you're a witch, Rowena!"

"Does that mean I'll be able to magic, like what you did?" asked Rowena.

"I guess," said Salazar. "But you need to learn how first. And even before that, you'll need a wand!"

Rowena shrugged. "That shouldn't be too hard, should it? I mean, I'm very smart; I learn the quickest in all the Glen. You could teach me, couldn't you? And could you make me a wand?" Rowena batted her eyes in a most un-Rowena way.

Salazar blushed. "Well, I guess I could teach you... and I did make my mother's most recent wand, so making you one shouldn't be too hard...alright. I'll do it. I'll meet you back here in a weeks time just before dusk, alright?"

Rowena nodded with fervor. "Alright. Thank you so much, Salazar!" She gave him a light hug, and then dashed away towards the small light that was certainly her village.

For a moment, Salazar seemed to be in almost a daze at her touch. He shook his head violently and then trudged off towards the lakeside shack he called his home.

Another pair of gray eyes, much sharper and angry than the soft ones that Salazar bore, followed him silently through the forest.

HHHHHHHHHH

"But Momma, please!" whined Helga in a surprisingly childish tone. "It's not fair! I mean, Hoyte got to go with Daddy on his trip, and he's 5 years younger than me! I can't even go into the city, when my 12 year old little brother gets to go into a _cave system _in the _mountains_?"

"I don't care how unfair it is Helga, it just wouldn't work! It would make my work much slower, and besides, who would watch the twins?" Helena Hufflepuff responded.

Such whining and refuting had been going on for the majority of the morning since Hoyte Hufflepuff Jr. and Sr. had left the cottage in the valley, and it did not seem like it was near stopping.

Helga did not necessarily want to go to the city because she was jealous of her younger brother's escapades. Nor did she want to go to see the supposedly beautiful city that had so long eluded her visiting. No, Helga Hufflepuff wanted to go with her mother to Calaway City for no reason other than to see the red-headed young man named Godric Gryffindor, and to find if he had been thinking as much of her as she had of him.

Daring to ask one more time, Helga prodded her mother lightly on the shoulder. The resulting spin of the elder woman threw the perfectly cooked eggs onto the ceiling above them, then fell to the floor below. "Evanesco!" cried Helena as she pointed her wand at the depressing yellow slop beneath her feet. It vanished, and she turned on her daughter. "Oh, what is it _now _Helga?"

"Well... you see..." mumbled Helga. "There wouldn't need to be anyone to watch the twins if they came with us, would there?" The 16 year old girl looked up at her mother hopefully.

Before Helena could respond, the aforementioned twin boys started calling out from the table. "Oh, Momma, I want to go!" "Yeah Mum, can we please?" Following their sudden explosion of begging, a loud growl could be heard throughout the Hufflepuff kitchen. "Sorry," said an embarrassed Hugh said. "That was my egg you ruined, Helga..."

All of them laughed heartily, and as it died down, one could hear Helena say, "Fine, I guess we'll all go. It seems I'm overruled anyway!" Helga pumped her fist in excitement and hugged her mother tightly. "Thank you Mum, oh, thank you!" She then ran back to her room and out of sight.

**

* * *

A/N: **Well, there's chapter three! It's just over 6 pages in OpenOffice Writer, so its a little longer than I expected. I didn't originally plan for the thunderstorm scene, but it popped into my head as I was writing Helga's dream and I thought it was cute, so... I couldn't help but writing it in. I've also planned a little more into the story, and I've decided I'm going to split this story into two parts: TFF and one other whose title I'm not going to reveal yet, detailing the depressing, yet ever-necessary decline of our favorite four. I've also decided I'm going to canonize this as much as I can, so if you haven't read DH or refuse to read interviews, this might confuse you a little bit later on. 

**Chapter Four can be expected within the next two weeks, and will include (among other things):**

#More allusions to future story, including (gasp) the ships!

#Godric forced to carry boxes upon boxes of jewelry for his step-mother!

#The first appearance of Rowena's father!

#Rowena learns her first spell!

And much, much more!

See you next time!

--

SamGryffinclaw


	4. Teenage Drama

**The Founders Four: Their Tale of Greatness**

By SamGryffinclaw

**AN:** Woot! Chapter four! This is a fun one, I think. I'm so sorry for the long wait, but real life really got in the way. Life for a teenage guy can often get quite hectic, and I've luckily turned that into inspiration for this chapter, hence the chapter title. Speaking of which, I'm going to go and retitle the first few chapters soon, because they are rather pathetic. If you have any ideas, just leave them in a review. Also, please just ignore the bolded random letters and symbols; FFN doesn't seem to like my transitions. If you have any suggestions to fix that issue, please do tell me! Erm, read on, I guess. (LOL)

**Disclaimer:** I am in no way associated with J. K. Rowling or her books, other than fondly enjoying them. Neither is this story. Anything you recognize belongs to her or another FFN writer from whom I might have inadvertently gotten inspiration, and anything you don't know belongs to me.

**Dedication: **To the VERY talented writer here on FFN, LouisaB. She's written a ton of wonderful Harry Potter fan fiction, much to the delight of my inner procrastinator while I'm supposed to be taking notes for Geography. XP If you enjoy RL/SB slash writing, or generally humorous, well written stories, then hers are for you. She's not only a great author, but I think she's probably a nice person too, based on her diligent, thought out and personal replies to my reviews. So once you finish this chapter, go off and spend a few days trying to read through all of her wonderful stories. And if you're reading this, Louisa, thank you!

**Chapter 4: Teenage Drama**

**asdasdfasdfasdf**

"Godric...Oh, Godric!" the blond maiden cooed to a happy young man of the same name. The youngest Gryffindor leaned in to make real the kiss for which he had been pining for the past few days and nights. "Oh, Godr–"

"GODRIC!" cried Galinda Gryffindor as she grabbed his shoulders and shook heartily. As he began to stir out of his breakfast, she finally let go. "At last! I've been calling you for five minutes, half of which in this room! Oh, honestly! And you still have some of the oatmeal on your face, here." She clapped twice, and little Gilbert could be heard falling down the last four stairs as he rushed in to serve his mistress.

"Gilbert, look at Godric." The silver-haired butler did so; as he saw the quite evident traces of oatmeal upon the face of his young master, he gave a high pitched squeal and rushed to dab it all away with a crimson kerchief bearing the Gryffindor crest.

As he did so, Galinda began to speak once again. "Godric, I am going into the city this afternoon to purchase some...erm...necessary items. In all likelihood, they will be quite numerous, and I will require someone to carry them, as it is rather un-ladylike for one to carry such things themselves or to levitate them before one's self. We'll just be going down the road to the Hooting Hen, as the stands that sell such things set themselves up on Mondays, as it is today." She paused for a moment. "I believe that is all. Be ready in fifteen minutes, as I need to properly dress." And with that rather flippant form of salutations, she was off to her dressing room, turquoise dress robes and all.

**Asdflahsfwd**

Even with the trouble of guiding the Hufflepuffs' mare, Anne-Marie, behind her, Helga was very much in love with Calaway City. The hustle and bustle of the townspeople going through the streets was both overwhelming and endearing. The little stands and booths that she passed on her way sold everything from potions guaranteed to turn your little brother into a hybrid lizard-rat to the latest fashions, which happened to be womens' dress robes that generously accentuated the wearer's hind-quarters (which was quite scandalous, in Helga's humble opinion).

Her favorite part by far was listening intently to the conversations that happened around her. "5 sickles, only 5 sickles! Okay, 4, that's fair." "No, Brian, I'm not going to buy you a child-sized broomstick; you're not near what they say is the required height!" Helga smiled smugly, remembering that her father first brought her on his broom when she was several inches shorter than Brian.

Helena stopped abruptly as Anne-Marie walked by a large moving statue of a mother hen. "Helga, what do you think of this spot?" she asked, indicating one of the quite rare empty spaces along the road. Helga nodded absentmindedly; she was now rather distracted by her brother Hudson climbing up into the hen's nest. He was met with a very stern glare from the stone bird, so he quickly crawled back down to Hugh's amusement.

"It is a very nice spot," Mrs. Hufflepuff continued, her index finger upon her chin. "It's by the inn, so we'll get local _and _visiting customers! Very well then. Hudson, Hugh! Come over here and help me unload Anne-Marie's cart; she must be so very tired by now." She began untying their mare from the cart and attaching her to a wooden stake in the ground instead.

"Oh, Hugh, honestly!" said an exasperated Helga. She flicked her wand wordlessly, and the banner which Hugh had been trying (unsuccessfully) to unfold shook itself out and hung itself on two poles sticking out of the cart. Upon the banner, Helena had sewn on in beautiful golden script, "Exotic Hand-made Jewelry and Fabric from the West!"

Just after they had finished setting up, a large blob of white-blond hair approached the cart (Helga failed to notice the woman beneath). She was accompanied by a quite bored-looking young man with a mop of fiery red–

_Oh! _thought Helga. _It's _**him**_! Oh no, oh no, oh no...hide me!_ She proceeded to dive behind the cart in a way that even Anne-Marie found improper, so she quickly found her face to be covered in dust from the hooves of the former.

The blond woman, who Helga assumed must be the redhead's mother, began to inspect the pieces on the cart. "Oh!" she cried. "This pendant is gorgeous! Is that a real sapphire?"

Helena looked over and said, "Oh yes; I believe it is. Probably something my husband picked up in the mountains." She continued to unroll the pale blue fabric that she had embroidered with gold colored thread. At the woman's surprised look, she said, "Well, that's where we get all that which we sell. He travels a lot; I guess you would call him an adventurer, an explorer. He always brings back what he can, and I make it into whatever I can. I'm Helena Hufflepuff, by the way." She backed out of the stand for a moment so she could curtsy properly.

"And I'm Galinda Gryffindor! My husband is the mayor of this town." She gestured grandly to the area around her. "And how could I forget! This is my wonderful little step-son, God–"

"I _can_ introduce myself, Galinda," the young man cut in quickly. "I'm Godric Gryffindor. And, if you don't mind me asking, do you have a daughter, by any chance? I thought I met a girl with your surname in the valley a few days ago..."

"I do indeed! And she's around here somewhere...Helga!" she called. She turned around in the stand to look behind her and happened to crunch her shoe into her daughter's hand. "OW!" cried Helga from below.

She crawled out from below the stand, and blushed furiously as she made eye contact with Godric. "Nice to...erm...see you again, Mr. Gryffindor," she said to the dusty ground below her. Godric laughed heartily. "Mr. Gryffindor? That's my father!" He reached down with his heavily callused hand to help her up, which she took slowly.

"So, Helena, would you and your daughter like to come to our house for dinner some time? Gilbert is a wonderful cook!" said Galinda.

Helena thought for a moment. "Well, I would love to come, but I really would have to stay back with Hugh and Hudson...Helga could go, however." She turned to face her eldest. "Helga, would you like to have dinner with the Gryffindors?"

"Er...all right," said Helga. "I'll go. When would you like me to arrive?" _I'll have to arrive early,_ thought Helga. _I ought to try and impress them. _She then realized that she was still holding Godric's hand, so she dropped it quickly as an intense hint of pink appeared in her cheeks.

"Around 6 o'clock should be fine," replied Galinda, now inspecting her nails. "But let's see what I want to buy...Oh! I want this one, and that one...oh, and that bracelet is _gorgeous!_" She continued on like this until she had picked out half of their stock. Godric was quickly crumpling under the load. As he was about to fall over, Helga leaned in and muttered a charm to lighten his load. He gave her a silent look of thanks, and they were off.

As Helga watched them leave, Galinda asked loudly, "Who was that girl? Are you going to marry _her_? She is very pretty..." That _did_ make Godric fall over.

**af93wsjxkahlds**

"What's cookin', Cassie?" asked a ravenous William Ravenclaw as he bowed into the cozy kitchen. "You'd be surprised how hungry potting makes you."

"I'd be more surprised if a week went by without you mentioning that fact," his wife responded with a wry smile.

Will chuckled amiably and turned to his daughter who sat idly pushing around her cornmeal. "Rowena, perk up! Your mother has made your favorite! Apple pie for dessert! Yum!" He rubbed his belly slowly and moaned for the dramatic effect.

The sight of her father talking and acting so childlike was almost enough to set her into fits of raucous laughter, but the more stubborn side of her made her see enough sense to resist and simply glare.

"Rowena!" chided her mother as she brought in the dessert. "Such an expression just isn't lady like. I don't think that your father is very funny tonight either, but that doesn't mean you have to be rude." She pulled her hair back into a dully colored cloth and started to daintily eat her pie.

As apple pie was indeed her favorite dessert, Rowena conceded to her parents' suggestions and began to heartily tuck in.

After a few minutes of simple banter and ferocious eating on Rowena's part (which earned her much scolding), Rowena took a deep breath and said, "Goingouttalktoyoulaterbye!" And ran to the door.

Just before she got out, her mother cut her sprinting off with the sort of sound one would use to discipline a dog. "Rowena, I don't like not knowing where you are when you leave. After all, you are only fifteen!" her mother said.

Rowena scowled. "If you _must _know, I'm off to the Lis' house. Apparently, Cho has had another baby, and Tara and I wanted to see it. Happy now?" The raven-haired girl felt quite proud at her spontaneous lie, especially seeing as it sounded accurate.

Cassidy Ravenclaw thought for a moment, then finally relented. "Fine, that sounds reasonable," she said. "But don't get used to this easy Mum; it's just because of your little episode a little while ago!" But her words were lost to her daughter who was already halfway across the clearing which they called their home.

**A;dghas;dlagf**

Salazar Slytherin was not a prideful man, but today, he was certainly not humble. When he set to his task of making a wand for Rowena, he could think of nothing else. As much as he tried to deny it to himself, pleasing her was his main motive, although he often chastised the part of his brain that told him that. This far more sensible region of his mind reasoned that he only worked so hard out of "creative duty"; that is, he worked so hard because he wanted his work to be good, not because he wanted someone to think it was good.

He arrived at the place where they had first spoken (not where they first met, if you count him watching her fall unconscious as meeting) several minutes before the decided meeting time. He slipped the new wand out of his pocket and rubbed it softly on his dirty shirt to try to add a little to the polish. Several blue sparks fizzed out of the end unceremoniously.

A sudden horrible fact came forefront in his mind: he had never tested it. What if it didn't even work? How stupid of a wizard would she think he was; she'd probably write him off as a fake, or a lunatic, and never want to see him again.

Before he let himself get too carried away with the worst case scenario, he decided to test the new wand before she got here.

He pointed it at a small pebble and whispered (ever conscious of the way sound carried in an empty forest). "Engorgio." He held his gaze for several seconds as the pebble grew to approximately the height of his knee.

"That was a pretty impressive bit of magic." Salazar jumped clumsily at the sound of the girl's voice. She laughed a quiet, innocent laugh that reminded him of what angels ought to sound like. "Think I could learn to do that?" she asked hopefully.

Salazar pondered for a moment and responded, "No, I don't think so. It's not difficult, but it's certainly not a good first spell. But you need a wand first, right?" He raised his eyebrows and paused to let her nod excitedly. "Well, here it is!" He flipped the wand between his fingers, a trick that he had taught himself as a child, so that the handle was extended towards her. "It's about eleven inches long, made from a branch of a Holly tree I found on the other side of the lake."

As he said this, she finally grasped the wand tightly, then waved it slowly. A shower of bright blue sparks, more reminiscent of a fireworks show than the trickle of light that emerged earlier from Salazar's polishing, flowed gracefully out of the end of the wand, illuminating the two of them in a soft blue glow.

For a moment, the girl was speechless. "Did you... I mean, did I...wow. That was beautiful." She paused again in awe.

"I guess it likes you," Salazar joked. "You know, some people say the wand chooses the wizard, as if they have some sort of mind of their own. I think it's rather ridiculous, but..."

"I think it's wonderful," Rowena said indignantly. "It's a deep metaphor at the very least, and in a world of magic, who knows?" She laughed. "Wait. What exactly makes it a _magic _wand anyway? I mean, could I just wave around a branch of wood, say a funny word and have pretty lights go everywhere?"

Salazar smacked himself for his ignorance. "Of course! I forgot to tell you about the core!"

"The core?" asked Rowena. "What's that?"

"Well, like you said, a wand needs something magical to amplify the magic in a witch or wizard," Salazar explained. "This something is usually called the wand's core. It's a magical object, usually from a magical creature, that is found in the center of a wand and allows the wand to work."

"Wow. What's mine?" asked Rowena thoughtfully.

"A hair from the tail of a unicorn," Salazar said proudly. "It's the first time I've gotten anywhere near one; I was thinking you might need to deal with Kneazle Claws!"

Rowena's jaw dropped. "You mean...unicorns are...real?" she asked in awe. "Like, as in, not just storybooks and things?"

Salazar smiled. "Yeah, they are, and I've got the scab to prove it!" he joked.

"Well," said Rowena. "Do you think you could teach me one, here, now? I mean, an easy one I guess." She looked at her dirty shoes as she said this.

Salazar responded, "OK, I guess. What do you want to learn?"

Rowena chewed her lip for a moment as a quick mental battle went on in her head. "I've always rather wanted to fly, but that doesn't sound very easy..." she said rather inconclusively.

"Well," Salazar said, "why not do the next best thing and make other things fly? Or levitate, anyway. That's a pretty easy charm; it's one of the first I learned."

"Oh, could you really?" asked Rowena. "That would be so amazing! You're so smart, Salazar."

The dark-haired boy blushed and mumbled something unintelligible about "nothing". He managed to hide his embarrassment by cloaking it with the retrieval of his own wand. "Like I said, it's pretty easy. You just sort of raise your wand-" they both did so "-swish and flick-" he showed her, and she repeated in perfect time "-and say the incantation: Wingardium Leviosa!"

"Wingardium Leviosa!" repeated Rowena, pointing her wand at a small branch on the ground before her. It rose to about the height of her knee when she dropped her wand as if it had burned her.

A worried look came across Salazar's pointed face. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

"It's just...I actually did it. I dunno why, but I was sort of thinking that this was all a dream, and that I was about to wake up. But I really just did it." A wide smile broke out across her face. "I'm a witch, Salazar!"

Salazar looked into her chocolate brown eyes and whispered, "Now, that's not polite to say about a lady, is it?" he joked. "But you are very magical."

**AN:**

Woot! I finished it! That was a much harder one than I expected it to be, but here I am finishing around one AM. It's done though, so that's what matters. I hope you enjoyed it, because I did work pretty hard.

I'm actually really looking forward to writing the next one; I know of at least two, maybe three scenes that will be in it that will be loads of fun to write (and hopefully also to read). It's also a rather Godric and Helga heavy chapter, with approx. 4 scenes with them and just one or two with Rowena and Salazar.

Be sure to review as you leave this page; if it weren't for those of you who kept reviewing, I would probably lose heart and stop writing.

Oh! I forgot to mention: if you would like to beta my story, please email me at: samtheman286 [at gmail [dot com. If you could cite a story on FFN that you've beta'd, that'd be great. Otherwise, just write me the kind of email that would make me think highly of your spelling, grammar, etc. TTFN!


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